Investing.com – Crude prices edged lower on Wednesday, as investors watched Hurricane Michael, which has intensified to Category 4 storm and was barreling down on Florida.
Some of the storm’s most significant early impact was to offshore energy production. U.S. producers in the Gulf cut oil production by about 40%, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said, as they evacuated personnel from 75 platforms in the region.
November West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark contract, slumped 74 cents, or around 1%, to $74.22 a barrel at 10:00 AM ET (1400 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Meanwhile, international benchmark Brent crude oil futures were at $84.20 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, down 80 cents, or about 0.9%, as traders weighed the impact of pending U.S. sanctions on Iranian crude exports.
Read more at : https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-prices-struggle-ahead-of-hurricane-michael-1638774
